What’s a Solo Interview?

Solo Interviews are our take on asynchronous video interviews (AVI) and is a video interview consisting of pre-written questions presented to the candidate on a screen where they then record their answer. There are huge upsides using this method for both candidates and recruiters.

For the recruiter:

• Reduce time-to-hire: Skip scheduling first-stage interviews.
• Streamline high-volume hires: Automate your process and use the same Solo Interview for however many candidates you need.
• Reduce time and costs: Screen candidates faster and spend less time finding a good time to interview.

For the candidate:

• Save time on travelling costs for interviews.
• Complete at a time and date that suits them, so no more taking time off work for interviews.
• Bring your CV to life! Candidates can show their personality on screen.

So, how can it be perceived as a negative?

Some candidates may feel discouraged after being excited about a job application only to be met with an automatic job interview without actually speaking to their potential employer. Tech works wonders but it can take away the human element.

Here’s one candidates take on an asynchronous interview:

“If you ever encounter the digital interview, you are going to laugh. Someone on the other end has a remote in hand and can ‘interview surf’ much like you channel surf the TV stations at home. Hope you are devilishly good looking and have an engaging personality or click … on to the next one. LOL!”

What’s our take on this?

The last thing we want is for candidates to feel neglected or as if they’re not being taken seriously, which is why we developed ‘Welcome Videos’ for Solo Interviews. 

We strongly encourage recruiters to record a video that the candidate will see when they follow the Solo Interview link. This can be to ease their nerves, or to just explain the process a little better. Although it is automatic and at the time of answering the questions, there is no one on the other end, it demonstrates that there is a reason for this and make them feel more comfortable.

Here are a few tips for your Welcome Video:

• Explain why you’re doing it: We don’t mean you should say “we’re doing this to save time”. Explain the benefits of this to them and the hiring manager and make them see it as an opportunity to shine and show off their personality!
• Calm their nerves: Let them know which stage this is in the process and explain to them what to expect during the Solo Interview and in the steps going forward.
• Remind them that it will be another human seeing this: A lot of candidates think asynchronous interviews are like a robot at the other end screening their answers. Make sure you let them know it’s you on the other end and who will be sharing this with the hiring manager.

Although asynchronous interviews are great for recruiters who are trying to humanise their candidates to hiring managers, it can sometimes feel quite anti-human from the candidates end. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about Welcome Videos when sending out a Solo Interview and remember, this can be a generic video that you can use on all interviews so you can still humanise the process, at scale.